Showtime
After sitting with the finale of Yellowjackets Season 2, I keep coming back to one thought, reverberating throughout my mind: It isn’t fair. There are endless layers to peel from that one sentiment, and I’ll touch on all of them in this recap. But my biggest takeaway is that Yellowjackets delights in reminding us of life’s inequity, and it has done so all season.
Things weren’t fair when a group of teenagers crash-landed in the wilderness, resorting to violent means to stay alive. They weren’t fair when the brilliantly clever television produced in Season 1 took a nosedive in Season 2, faster than that fictional plane went down. And nothing was remotely fair about this season’s finale, which left every single character scorned by life’s cruelty, and the show’s most notable symbol of hope in a dark world dead.
Sure, the world isn’t fair. But the sheer bleakness with which Yellowjackets ended its second season was a disservice to fans and critics alike. We have sat through this season, hoping for some indication that the writers would find a way to jolt this show from its dismal dullness. Last season’s finale may have been just as dark, but there was at least an indication that its central group of women had found strength in each other. On top of that, there was a path paved for the show to move forward. I only hoped that Yellowjackets Season 2 could stick the landing. Instead, it overshot its mark entirely.